I can’t keep calm because Durga Pujo is here! In fact, I’m already done with one night of pandal hopping and looking forward to more over the next few days. If you are not from Kolkata or if you’ve never experienced Pujo here, it is kinda hard to explain what this festival means to us Bengalis. It is five days of celebration, adda, ‘notun jama pora’, ‘thakur dekha’, ‘khawa’ and ‘moja kora’. Sleep takes a back-seat and food is on top of the agenda. Everyone wants to look their best during Pujo and I am no different. I visited the Kama Ayurveda store in Quest Mall recently to ask for advice on what products I should use for my combination skin to make it glow this Pujo. Read on to find out what I was prescribed and my skincare routine.

Me to a friend a month back – ” What’s the secret of your lustrous locks T? Have you been using any new hair care product? Plzzz tell me the name. My hair looks so dull nowadays. Even I wanna try it”

Friend to me – “Hey sure. I’m using this new natural hair tonic that’s really working for me. Here’s the name. We have the same hair type so it should work for you too”

Me a month later – “WTH T! This tonic is just not doing anything for me. In fact, I’ve been losing so much hair after I’ve started using it. I just don’t get it. It worked so well for you!”

All of us have had these conversations with our friends. As a beauty blogger, I write product reviews and rave about something but that might not work at all for many of you. And do you know the reason why? The fault does not lie with the product. It lies with us because we tend to forget that we are all different from each other. What works for me might not work for you because my hair, skin, body type, body composition is different than yours. And that’s the basic premise of Ayurveda. To understand that we are different individuals, our bodies are different and that one size does not fit all.

A big thanks to Kama Ayurveda and YFLO for inviting me to the talk on Ayurveda & Beauty by Dr. V. R. Vivekanand, clinical registrar at IAIM Healthcare Center and Senior Assistant Professor, School of Health Sciences, Bangalore. The event was held at the terrace of Quest Mall and Dr. Vivekanand spoke for about 45 mins on the philosophy and science behind Ayurveda, discussed skin related problems and health issues and also answered questions from the guests, including one from me.